Kazakh Firepower: Alimkhanuly and Ualikhanov to Make Top Rank Debuts September 28 in Oakland

PhilBoxing.comFri, 21 Sep 2018

OAKLAND, Calif. (Sept. 20, 2018) — A pair of former amateur stars from Kazakhstan, Janibek Alimkhanuly and Askhat Ualikhanov, will make their Top Rank debuts in separate bouts on Friday, Sept. 28 at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif. Alimkhanuly will face Carlos Galvan in a super middleweight contest, while Ualikhanov will take on Angel Hernandez in a super lightweight showdown on the undercard of IBF super middleweight champion Jose Uzcátegui’s 10-round non-title bout against Ezequiel Maderna and Jerwin Ancajas’ IBF junior bantamweight title defense versus Alejandro Santiago (ESPN+, 10:30 p.m. ET).

Alimkhanuly-Galvan, Ualikhanov-Hernandez, and other undercard bouts will stream live at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+ — the new multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International segment in conjunction with ESPN.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Zanfer Promotions, Joven Sports and MP Promotions, tickets for this all-action card are on sale now. Priced at $105, $78.75, $52.50, and $26.25, including facility fees, tickets can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com or at the Oracle Arena box office. The Oracle Arena box office is open Monday-Friday from 12-5 p.m.

Alimkhanuly and Ualikhanov are managed by Egis Klimas, the Boxing Writers Association of America’s two-time reigning Manager of the Year.

“Janibek and Askhat are sensational talents who will be contending for world titles sooner rather than later,” Klimas said. “I am happy that American fight fans will be able to see them fight on ESPN+.”

Alimkhanuly (2-0, 1 KO), a southpaw who is trained by former world champion Buddy McGirt, represented Kazakhstan at the 2016 Olympics and advanced to the quarterfinal round. He fought roughly 300 times as an amateur, winning gold medals at the 2013 AIBA World Championships and 2013 Asian Championships. He made his pro debut on Oct. 29, 2016 with a first-round TKO against Milton Nunez. Alimkhanuly last fought in September of last year with a six-round unanimous decision against Gilberto Pereira. He promises to be more active under the Top Rank banner, and if all goes well against Galvan, he will fight at least one more time in 2018. The plan is for Alimkhanuly to eventually challenge for a world title at middleweight.

Ualikhanov (3-1, 2 KOs) suffered the only blemish on his record in his pro debut. He was controversially disqualified in the third round against Daniel Bastien for landing a punch on the break. In his last bout, on July 14 in Hollywood, Calif., he won a four-round unanimous decision against Darel Harris.